Earnings of retail salespersons highest in metro areas in West

Earnings of retail salespersons varied among the nation’s metropolitan areas.

The five metropolitan areas with the highest wages for retail salespersons were all in western States. Average hourly wages for these employees ranged from $13.29 in Tacoma, Washington, to $15.05 in Carson City, Nevada.

The number of workers employed as retail salespersons, 4.3 million, is larger than the number of workers employed in any other detailed occupation.

These employment and earnings estimates are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. To learn more, see Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2005 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-896. Links to metropolitan and State area occupational employment and earnings data not included in the news release are on the OES homepage.